Device for printing characters photographically



H. KAUFER Oct. 26, 1965 DEVICE FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS PHOTOGRAPHICALLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 20, 1962 INVENTOR. HELMUT KAUFER H. KAUFER 3,213,770

DEVICE FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS PHOTOGRAPHICALLY Oct. 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1962 INVENTOR.

HELMUT KAUFER Oct. 26, 1965 H. KAUFER 3, 0

DEVICE FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS PHOTOGRAPHICALLY Filed Dec. 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 4

IN V EN TOR.

HELMUT KAUFER 77464.! J fwer United States Patent DEVICE FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS PHOTOGRAPHICALLY Helmut Kiiufer, Munich-Grunwald, Germany, assignor to Agfa Aktiengesellschaft, Leverkusen, Germany Filed Dec. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 246,269 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 23, 1961,

1 Claim. ((51. 9s 4.s

The present invention relates to devices which are capable of printing characters photographically.

Up to the present time devices which are capable of printing characters such as numerals and letters of the alphabet photographically are particularly constructed for this purpose so that it is necessary for the user to purchase a special device designed to photographically reproduce characters such as the letters of the alphabet, numerals, or the like.

It is a primary object of the present invention to enable the purchase of -a special device for this purpose to be eliminated and instead to adapt a conventional photographic enlarger so that it can also be used for printing characters photographically.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a photographic enlarger with certain additional structure which renders it suitable for use as a photographic printer of characters while at the same time enabling the enlarger to be used also, when desired, to make prints of negatives or the like so that while the full use of the enlarger for its normal purposes is not in any way interfered with, the enlarger still, in accordance with the invention, can be used for the additional purpose of printing characters photographically.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to enable an enlarger to be used for the additional purpose of printing characters photographical ly while increasing the cost of the enlarger only on the order of approximately 15%, so that there is no major increase in the price of the enlarger and the additional components which when used with the enlarger enables it to make photographic reproductions of any desired characters, symbols, or the like.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide, for use with a photographic enlarger, an optical stencil means which carries characters images of which are capable of being projected to a light-sensitive sheet with the optical stencil means removably supporting the part thereof which carries the characters so that it is possible to interchange one set of characters with another set of characters.

Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical stencil means of the above type which is capable of indicating to the operator the selected character.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide for an optical stencil means of this type a structure which is capable of positioning the stencil means to align a selected character with the optical axis as well as a structure which is capable of automatically providing electrical connections which may be required for the optical stencil means. I

Still another object of the present invention is to provide for a photographic enlarger which is also capable of being used to photographically reproduce characters,

to each other not only in given lines but also in a line-by line arrangement.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide for a structure of the above type a masking or covering arrangement capable of preventing exposure of the light sensitive sheet during testing :and setting-up of the apparatus preparatory to photographically reproducing selected characters.

With the above objects in view, the invention includes, in a device which is capable of photographically reproducing characters, an enlarger having a base member and an enlarger head Llocated thereover and provided with a support which normally supports the negatives or the like which are to be photographically reproduced. In accordance with the invention there is removably located on this support of the enlarger head an optical stencil means having characters capable of being selectively aligned with the optical axis so that images thereof will be projected from the enlarger head toward the base member of the enlarger, and also in accordance with the present invention there is located on the base member of the enlarger a carriage means capable of selectively positioning a light-sensitive sheet with respect to the optical axis so that the position of the images of the selected characters on the light-sensitive sheet can be controlled.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of one possible embodiment of a structure of the invention for reproducing characters photographically;

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of part of an enlarging head of the enlarger of FIG. 1 showing thereon an optical stencil means of the invention, the optical stencil means being shown in FIG. 2 pulled forwardly from the position it normally occupies when mounted on the enlarger head;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation showing the enlarger head and the optical stencil means mounted thereon; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of the base member of the enlarger showing thereon an embodiment of a carriage structure, for positioning a light-sensitive sheet, different from the embodiment of the carriage structure shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown therein an enlarger having a base member 1 in the form of a plate or board on which a conventional easel, carrying lightsensitive printing paper, is adapted to rest, and this base member 1 fixedly carries at its rear end a vertical sleeve 2 in which a column 3 is vertically adjustable in a manner well known in the art. The head 3a of the'column 3 carries a parallelogram linkage 4, 5 as well as a counter-balancing spring 6 operatively connected to the parallelogram linkage, and this linkage supports an enlarger head which includes the support 7 which is normally used to support the negatives or the like which are to be reproduced. The

support 7 also carries the lamp housing 8- of the enlarger, and" beneath the support 7 is located the conventional adjustable objective 9. A handle 10 is operatively connected to the parallelogram linkage so that the latter can be actuated, as is well known in the art for adjusting the elevation of the enlarger head 79.

As may be seen particularly from FIG. 3, the lamp housing 8 of the enlarger head houses the lamp 8a as well as a pair of tubular reflectors 8b and a condenser 8c. Between the lower end of the lamp housing 8, where the condenser 8c is located, and the supporting plate 7a which normally receives the structure which carries the film strip, is the chamber 11 for receiving this structure which normally carries a strip of negatives or the like which are to be reproduced, and in accordance with the invention this chamber 11 is used to accommodate the optical stencil means of the invention described below. As may be seen from FIG. 1, the enlarger includes a flexible shaft 12, in the form of a Bowden cable, for example, which can be turned by a knob 13 located at the front of the base member 1 and which is connected at its upper end to a rotary coupling sleeve 14 (FIG. 2), so that when the knob 13 is turned the coupling sleeve 14 will be turned. When the enlarger is used in a conventional manner this coupling sleeve 14 is connected to a structure which will advance the film strip so that after one negative is positioned on the optical axis the operator can turn the knob 13 to position the next negative on the optical axis.

The optical stencil means of the invention is shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thus, the optical stencil means 15 includes a lower, hollow support means 16 which carries pivots 17 extending into slotted ears of a cover means 18 of the stencil assembly 15, this cover means 18 being turnable between the open position indicated in FIG. 2 and the closed position shown in FIG. 3'. The upper wall of the hollow, box-shaped support 16 of the optical stencil means 15 fixedly carries a post 19 on which a plate 20 is freely turnable. This plate 20 forms a character-carrying means and for this purpose the plate 20 is transparent and has printed thereon in any suitable Way opaque characters 21. Thus, the upper transparent wall 20a of the character-carrying means 20 is transparent and has the characters 21 located thereon, these characters being letters of the alphabet, numerals, or any other desired indicia. The rotary character-carrying means 20 simply rests freely on the top end of the post 19, on an upwardly directed shoulder thereof, as indicated in FIG. 3, so that the means 20 is freely turnable. It should be noted that instead of making the plate 20a transparent and the characters 21 opaque, it is possible to make the plate 20a opaque and to provide either transparent characters or characters 21 in the form of openings of a suitable configuration passing through the opaque plate. The rotary character-carrying means 20 includes in addition to the flat circular plate 20a a cylindrical portion 20b extending downwardly from the outer periphery of and being integral with the plate 20a, and the periphery or outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20b of the rotary character-carrying means 20 is provided with the characters 22 which are the same as the characters 21'and which are positioned in such a way that there will appear at the front of the cylindrical portion 2017 a character which is the same as that character of the plate 20a which is aligned with the optical axis. Thus, in the illustrated position of the parts shown in FIG. 2, it is the letter A which is positioned in alignment with the optical axis, and it will be noted that in this position the letter A of the characters 22 is positioned at the front of the cylindrical portion 20b, this cylindrical portion 20b also being transparent.

. Thus, the rotary means 20 is capable of being turned, in the manner described below, so as to align with the optical axis 801, shown in FIG. 3, a selected one of the characters 21, and it will be noted from FIG. 3 that the lower wall of the support 16 is formed with an opening 23 while the upper wall thereof is formed with an aligned opening, so that in this way the support means 16 is clear of the optical axis and does not interfere with the projection of an image of a selected one of the characters 21. In addition, the cover 18 is formed with an opening 24 (FIG. 2) which is also aligned with the optical axis so that the cover means 18 is also clear of the optical axis when the cover means 18 isin its closed position shown in FIG. 3, and in this way the light from the lamp can pass freely through the portion of the plate 20a which is aligned with the optical axis and which carries the selected character which is to be projected along the optical axis to the base member 1 of the enlarger. The opening 24 of the cover 18' is formed in the wall 25a thereof, this wall 25a being horizontal and circular and forming the upper wall of a substantially cylindrical portion of the cover 18, this cylindrical portion 25 of the cover 18 surrounding the rotary character-carryingmeans 20 in the closed position of the cover means 18, as is apparent from FIG. 3. The cylindrical Wall 25b of the cylindrical portion 25 of the cover means 18 is formed with a front opening 26 through which appears that one of the characters 22 which is the same as that one of the characters 21 which is aligned with the optical axis, so that in the illustrated example the letter A of the characters 21 will be aligned with the optical axis while simultaneously the letter A of the characters 22 will be visible through the opening 26. The support 16 carries a lamp 27 which extends into the character-carrying means 20, so that when the lamp 27 is energized the light will pass through the transparent cylindrical portion 20b of the means 20 and thus the characters 22 will be illuminated to clearly indicate to the operator that character which is aligned with the optical axis.

Thus, the optical stencil means of the invention includes an electrical structure which in the illustrated example includes the lamp 27, and this lamp 27 is located in a circuit in which are located the pair of contacts 28 in the form of openings capable of receiving the prongs of an electrical plug or in the form of a pair of prongs capable of being received in a plug, the part which mates with the elements 28 being located at the end of an electrical cable capable of being inserted into any wall outlet or the like, so that in this way electrical energy can be supplied to the lamp 27. Also, the lamp 27 can be located in a circuit which includes the pair of prongs 29 located at the rear of the support 16, and when the support 16 is shifted rearwardly to its operative position shown in FIG. 3, the prongs 29 will be received in an electrical plug 30 carried by the enlarger head and connected through a suitable conductor to a wall outlet or the like, so that in this way also, simply by mounting the optical stencil means in its operative position the electrical structure 27 of the optical stencil means will be capable of being electrically energized.

When the optical stencil means is pulled forwardly on the support 7 to the position indicated in FIG. 2, it is possible for the operator to raise the cover means 18 to the position illustrated in FIG. 2, so that the rotary character-carrying means 20 is accessible, and one character-carrying means 20 can be removed from the post 19 and replaced by another character-carrying means which carries a different set of characters, so that in this way a plurality of character-carrying means can be made available to the operator for selective placement on the post 19. The circular plate 20a is fixedly connected with a motion transmitting portion 33 of non-circular cross section, this portion 33 being square, for example, and the top wall of the cylindrical portion 25 of the cover means 18, namely the wall 25a, is formed with an opening which receives a downwardly projecting portion of a manually operable rotary member 31 which is transparent and which has an outer edge which is scalloped or the like so that it can easily be grasped and turned by the operator. The downwardly projecting portion of the manually turnable means 31 not only extends through a central opening of the top wall 25a of the cylindrical portion 25 of the cover means 18, in addition, this downwardly projecting portion is formed with an opening 32 whose configuration mates with that of the motion-transmitting portion 33 of the character-carrying means 20, so that in this way when the portion 33 is received in the mating opening 32 of the rotary member 31, the operator when turning the latter will necessarily turn the character-carrying means 20 in order to align with the optical axis a selected character 21, and of course the selected character will also appear through the window 26, as described above, so that in this way it is possible for the operator to manually align with the optical axis a selected one of the characters 21. Inasmuch as the member 31 is transparent, the light from the lamp of the projector will pass freely through the member 31 in order to project an image of the selected character to the bae member 1.

The structure of the invention also includes, for the purpose of advancing the character-carrying means 20 to a selected position, a friction wheel 34 which is turnably carried by a suitable bracket of the support 16, this wheel 34 frictionally engaging the lower edge of the cylindrical portion 20b of the character-carrying means 20, and a flexible shaft 35 is connected to the roller 34 for turning the latter when the shaft 35 turns, the end of the flexible shaft 35 which is distant from the friction roller 34 being connected with a coupling member 36 which is supported by the rear wall of the hollow support 16 for rotary movement, and this coupling member 36 projects from the rear wall of the support 36 and is in alignment with the coupling sleeve 14, so that when the optical stencil means is pushed rearwardly to its operative position shown in FIG. 3, the coupling member 36 will be received in the sleeve 14 to be placed in driving engagement therewith. For this purpose, the sleeve 36 may have a plurality of projections received in a plurality of grooves of the sleeve 14, so that a coupling similar to a splined connection is provided between the elements 14 and 36, and thus with this construction the operator can turn the knob 13 at the front of the base member 1 in order to transmit through the flexible shaft 12, the coupling members 14 and 36, the flexible shaft 35, and the roller 34 movement to the character-carrying means for turning the latter so as to position a selected character in alignment with the optical axis. Of course, it is also possible to use an electrical adjusting structure for locating a selected character in alignment with the optical axis.

As may be seen from FIG. 1, the base member 1 is provided at its left with an elongated straight edge 1a. A carriage means 37 cooperates with a straight edge 1a to be guided thereby for movement longitudinally of the straight edge 1a. This carriage means 37 cooperates with the base member 1 in the same way that a T-square cooperates with a drawing board. Thus, the carriage 37 includes an elongated arm 37a located directly over the member 1 and extending perpendicularly with respect to the edge 1a, and the carriage 37 includes an arm 37b which is perpendicular to the arm 37a and extends along this straight edge 1a so as to be guided thereby, and thus operator is capable of manually shifting the carriage 37 along the straight edge 1a While the arm 37a will remain perpendicular to the straight edge 1a. Inasmuch as the base member 1 is normally supported by a plurality of feet 38 so that the base member 1 is spaced above a table or the like on which the enlarger is located, the arm 37b is provided with a projection extending to the underside of the base member 1, so that in this way the carriage 37 extends around the edge 1a to be guided thereby for sliding movement therealong.

A positioning structure is provided for enabling the operator to locate the carriage means 37 in a plurality of positions which have a predetermined relationship with respect to each other, and this positioning means includes the bearing block 39 which is fixedly connected to and extends upwardly from the arm 37a adjacent to the arm 37b, as indicated in FIG. 1. The bearing block 39 supports for turning movement about a horizontal axis which is parallel to the arm 37 a turnable member 40 which fixedly carries a holder 41 and which also fixedly carries a lever 42 which forms a manually operable means enabling the member 40 to be turned about its axis by the operator. An unillustrated fastening device fastens to the holder 41 an elongated positioning member 44 which is inclined downwardly toward the rear of the base member 1. The elongated positioning member 44 extends substantially parallel to the arm 37b and since it is downwardly inclined engages the rear edge 1b of the base member 1. A plurality of tongues 45 are struck downwardly from the elongated positioning member 44 so as to form substantially saw-tooth shaped projections which are capable of being selectively placed in engagement with the edge 1b, and the distance between the row of down- Wardly extending projections 45 corresponds to the distance between the lines of printing matter which are to be photographically provided on a light-sensitive sheet. Thus, with this construction it is possible to precisely provide for the arm 37a of the carriage means 37 a plurality of positions which have a predetermined relationship with respect to each other.

A second carriage means 46, 47 is operatively connected to the first carriage means 37 for movement longitudinally of the arm 37a thereof. For this purpose the second carriage means 46, 47 has its rear portion 46 in the shape of a channel of substantially U-shaped cross section with the rear wall of the channel received in a groove which extends longitudinally of the arm 370, as indicated in FIG. 1, so that in this way the second carriage 46, 47 can be shifted along this groove longitudinally of the arm 37a while remaining connected with the carriage 37 so that the second carriage 46, 47 necessarily moves with the first carriage longitudinally of the edge 1a. The frame 47 of the second carriage 46, 47 holds a carrier 48 for a lightsensitive sheet, the carrier 48 being located on the upper surface 10 of the plate or base member 1. Thus, with this construction a light-sensitive sheet carried by the transparent carrier 48 is capable of being shifted with the carriage 37 to determine the positions of the lines of the printed matter While it is capable of being shifted longitudinally of the arm 37a to determine the spacing between letters and words, for example. For this latter positioning the frame 47 carries a bearing block 49 which supports for turning movement a fitting 39 to which the elongated positioning member 50 is capable of being fixed in any suitable way such as by any suitable screws or the like, and this positioning member 50 is provided with downwardly struck tongues 45 which are the same as the projections 45 of the positioning member 44, and the distance between the several tongues 45 is such that when one after the other of these tongues are placed in engagement with the right edge of the base member 1, as viewed in FIG. 1, the shifting of the sheet carrier 48 and the sheet therewith will be through increments which are proper for the spacing between the several characters in any one line. It will be noted that the positioning member 50 is downwardly inclined so that it will engage only the right edge of the base member 1. Of course, the positioning member 50 may also be attached to the part 46 of the second carriage means, if desired. Thus, with the illustrated construction the distance between the projections 45 of the positioning member 44 will determine the positions between the lines which are photographically provided on the light-sensitive sheet, While the projections 45 of the positioning means 50 will determine the position between the letters and words in each of these lines.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a pair of carriage means for positioning .a light-sensitive sheet, carried by the carrier 48, so that the various characters will have a desired arrangement on the light-sensitive sheet. With the embodiment of FIG. 4 a pair of spool-carrying units 51 and 52, are of angular cross-section, rest on the top surface of the base member 1 and engage the opposed parallel side edges thereof, as illustrated in FIG. '4, so that these spool-carrying means 51 and 52 are longitudinally shiftable along the opposed parallel side edges of the base member 1. The spool-carrying means 51 supports for rotary movement a spool 53, while the spoolcarrying means 52 support for rotary movement a spool 54, and these spools are respectively fixed with knobs 55 and 56 which are accessible at the front ends of the pair of carrying means 51 and 52, so that the operator can engage the knob-s 55 and 56 for turning the spools 53 and 54, respectively. An elongated steel band 57 which is flexible and which has a thickness on the order of 0.05 mm., extends between and is wound on the pair of spools 3 and 54, and thus by turning the spools it is possible to longitudinally move the band 57 across the base member 1. An elongated rigid arm 58 extends between and is fixed to the pair of spool carrying mean-s 51 and 52 for fixing the latter to each other at a distance equal to the distance between the side edges of the base member 1, and thus the member 58 together with the pair of spool-carrying means 51 and 52 forms a carriage corresponding to the carriage means 37 described above in connection with FIG. 1. Thus, with the embodiment of FIG. 4 the pair of spool carriers 51, 52 together with the arms 58 form the first carriage means movable along the opposed parallel side edges of the base member 1, while the band 57 is movable longitudinally of the arm 58, which extends perpendicularly to the pair of opposed parallel side edges of the base member 1, this band 57 forming part of a second carriage means which corresponds to the second carriage means 46, 47 of FIG. 1. The pair of spoolcarrying means 51 and 52 turnably carry rollers 59, respectively, which directly engage the top surface of base member 1, and also they carry a pair of rollers 60, respectively, which engage the top surface of-the base member :1, so that in this way the rollers 59 and 60 support the carriage means 51, 58, 52 for movement forwardly and rearwardly on the base member 1, and the pair of rollers 60 are operatively connected with knobs 61 accessible at the sides of the carriage means so that the operator by turning the knobs 61 can move the carriage means 51, 5 8, 52 forwardly or rearwardly, and this movement can 'be brought about by turning either one or both of the knobs 61. v

The second carriage means which includes the flexible band 57 also includes a conventional photographic maskmg frame 64 which has its relatively massive base portion 63 located on the band 57. Of course, this base portion "'63 of the frame 64 can be fixed to the band 57, but inasmuch as the masking elements 64 and 65 are quite light, it is suflicient to simply allow the relatively heavy portion 63 to rest frictionally on the band 57, and if desired there can be provided at the underside of the base portion 63 of the masking frame a material which will have a high coefiicient of frictional contact with respect to the band 57, this coefiicient of frictional engagement being greater than that between the masking elements 64 and 65 with respect to the top surface of the base member 1, so that in this way the base member 63 need only be aligned with the rear edge of the band 57 when placed thereon and the parts will operatively engage each other for shifting movement in the desired manner. This photographic masking frame 64 cooperates with the sheet holder 48 to move the latter and thus move the light-sensitive sheet. Thus, with this construction it is possible to move a light-sensitive sheet carried by the holder 48 from one letter to the next in a given line simply by manipulation of the knobs 55 and 56, while the line-by-line advance can be obtained by turning the knobs 61 so as to move the carriage 51, 58, 52. Thus, the band will move longitudinally during reproduction of characters of a given line and transversely when shifted from one line to the next. A covering or 'masking sheet 67 is turnably connected at 68 to the arm .58 to be turnable to and from a position located over the holder 48 for the light-sensitive sheet, so that the latter sheet can be covered in a light-tight manner during testing and setting up of the enlarger preparatory to exposing the light-sensitive sheet with selected characters of the optical stencil means described above.

FIG. 4 does not show any structure for determining the line-by-line positioning of the pair of carriage means or the letter-by-letter positioning of the carriage means formed by the band 57 and the frame 64. However, there are many known devices in the typewriter art, for example, which can be used for this purpose. Moreover, the knobs 55, 56, or 61 can be connected with ratchet wheels which are capable of being interchangeably connected to these knobs when it is desired to change the spacing between the lines and letters, and these ratchet wheels may cooperate with suitable pawls so that in this way it is possible for the operator to determine the lineby-line and letter-by-letter movement of the carriages. As was pointed out above, it is possible to provide for movement of the carriage means 51, 58, 52 by manipulation of one knob 61, and moreover in the case where the spool 53 is releasably held in a given position by a pawland-ratchet mechanism or the like, a spring may act on the spool 54 for maintaining the desired tension in the band 57, so that with such a construction the shifting of the band 57 can be brought about solely by turning of the knob 55, to produce the letter-by-letter movement of the carriage means 57, 64, and the pawl can be moved away from the ratchet to release the spool 54 to the spring which will return the parts to their starting position at the beginning of the next line, any suitable stop being provided for this purpose.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of photographic printing devices differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in enlarger-s adapted to provide photographic printing, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any away from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claim.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

An optical stencil assembly adapted to be used with a photographic enlarger to enable the latter to be used for printing characters photographically, comprising, in combination, support means; plate means turnably carried by said support means for rotation about an axis parallel to the optical axis and carrying characters capable of being selectively aligned with the optical axis of the enlarger to have images thereof projected; cover means hingedly carried by said support means for movement to and from a position covering at least part of said plate means, said cover means and support means being clear of the optical axis of the enlarger when the assembly is placed thereon so that the light rays moving along the optical axis can pass through said plate means to project an image of a selected character thereon; and man-,

ually operable rotary means carried by said cover means and operatively connected to said plate means when said cover means is in said closed position thereof for manually turning said plate means to align a selected character with the optical axis, said manually operable means being transparent.

References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/35 Ogden 8824 5/39 Meyer 95-45 11/43 Mayer 8824 4/50 Young 954.5 10

Lohr 9S--4.5

Mourfield 8824 Vriezelaar 8824 Nations 88--24 Sausele 9585 Rossetto 954.5

JOHN M. HORAN, Primary Examiner.

NORTON ANSHER, Examiner. 

